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(No Model.)

N. D. CHASE. AWL.

No. 601,123. Patented Mar. 22,1898.

INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NEWTON D. CHASE, OF POKEGAMA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TC WILMERHILT AND ALLEN HILT, OF HAMBROOK, CALIFORNIA.

4 a V m AWL.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 601,123, dated March 22,1898. Application filed February 15, 1897. Serial No. 623,423. (No as.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NEWTON D. CHASE, a citizen of the United States,residing at P0- kegama, in the county of Siskiyou and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Awls;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain improvements in awls, and particularlyto that class used by shoemakers, harness-makers, and the like in sewingleather; and my invention provides an awl of this character that can beused by unskilled persons. to do their own mending and Which is soconstructed that different thicknesses of thread may be used with equalfacility and whereby the thread may be cut when necessary.

To these ends my invention contemplates certain novel features ofconstruction whereby the above and other advantages are gained in asimple, efiective, and inexpensive manner, as will be hereinafter fullydescribed, and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of anawl embodying my invention, showing it in the act of passing a threadthrough a piece of leather; and Fig. 2 is a similar view in the act ofwithdrawing the thread.

Similar reference-numerals indicate corresponding parts in both figuresof the drawings. v

lrepresents the shank of the awl, which is preferably, but notnecessarily, of diamond shape in transverse section, and this shank isprovided with a handle 2 at one end, while its opposite end is broughtto a sharp point, which is intended to penetrate the leather or othersubstance in the usual manner.

I provide open recesses 3 and 4 along the shank l and slightly above thepoint, the one marked 3 being cut into the shank, beginning at a pointmarked 3 and extending upwardly into the body of the shank, the oppositeend thereof terminating in a hook 3 and this hook in practice engagesthe thread and carries it through the leather. The recess 4, which isformed at the opposite side of the shank, begins at a point marked 4,whence it extends downwardly, terminating in a similar hook 4 to that,3, above described, and the purpose of this hook is to withdraw thethread, as I will presently describe.

It will be observed upon. reference to the drawings that grooves areformed leading from the inner extremity of the recesses 3 and 4, fromwhence they merge into and become flush with the sides of the shank, andthe purpose of these grooves is to provide for the accommodation ofvarying thicknesses of thread and to avoid all'unnecessary resistance tothe awl when passing through the material, and the extreme points of thehooks are turned slightly inward, so as to fall below the level of theside edges of the awl-shank and thus avoid contact with the material asthe awl is passed through.

Near the upper end of the awl-shank 1 I provide a thread-cutter 6, whichis formed by cutting a notch in its edge and sharpening the edgesthereof, so that the thread may be readily and easily severed.

In practice the thread is first inserted into the recess 3 and the awlis forced through the material, after which it is withdrawn, leaving thethread therein in the form of a loop, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of thedrawings. The awl is then forced through another portion of thematerial, and the hook 4, engag ing with the loop in the thread,withdraws it, and this operation is repeated as often as necessary toform a succession ofstitches.

In order to form a succession of stitches with a double thread, thethread is first looped in the recess 3 and the awl forced through thematerial, after which the other end of the thread is looped in therecess 4. Then by removing the awl from the leather or other sub stance.both ends of the thread are ready to draw through, and thus a stitch isformed at each insertion of the awl.

It will thus be seen that my invention provides in a very simple manneran awl which can be readily used by inexperienced persons and by whichthey can easily do their own work of mending, thus avoiding theemployment of experienced workmen, which is often considerable expense.

one of its acute edges with obliquely-arranged V-shaped recesses, suchrecesses being arranged in the flat sides of the shank which bounds oneof the acute edges and said recesses merging to form an oblique cuttingedge, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

NEWTON D. CHASE. Vitnesses:

R. M. BEAN, ALBERT PANKNIN.

